Finger pull



M. SCHIRMER FINGER PULL Jan. 1, 1963 Filed Dec. 30, 1959 FIG.5'

INVENTOR MAXHVHLIAN SCHIRMER BY mmgmm ATTORNEYS 3,070,830 FINGER PULLMaximilian Schirrner, Gofistcwn, N.H., assigncr to Hermsdorf Fixture hIanniaetnring C0,, line, Manchester, N.H., a corporation of NewHampshire Filed Dec. 33, 1959, Ser. No. 862,928 1 Claim. Cl. 16-124) Inthe manufacture of oflice and other furniture it is often desirable tohave a sliding panel provided with a handle by which it may be graspedand slid back and forth. For this purpose holes have been bored or cutin the panel and shallow cup-shaped members called finger pulls insertedin them. However, it has been found to be difficult to fasten the cupsin place and to design them so that they do not project substantiallybeyond the front and back faces of the panel.

My invention provides a finger pull which can be secured permanently inplace merely by pushing it into a hole in the panel, and, which when inplace does not project substantially beyond either the front or backface of the panel. This finger pull never gets loose or rattles andprovides an attractive finish for the edge of the hole in which it isset.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a portion of a panel with a fingerpull inserted in a hole therein.

FIG. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a part of the section shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing a different form of ribon the barrel of a cup-shaped finger pull.

FIG. 5 is aview in perspective of the finger pull before it is insertedin the hole in the panel.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, at is shown apart of a slidable panel. In this panel is formed a round hole for thereception of a finger pull A (see FIG. 5). This finger pull isessentially a shallow cup injection molded of a thermoplastic, forinstance nylon, or other suitable material and having a slightlyflexible bottom 14 which will bend a little when the cup is forced intothe hole in the panel. The sides 12 of the finger pull flare slightlybeing of smaller diameter at the inner end and there is a flange 13around the open end. When in place in the panel, the flange 13 rests ona margin of the hole in the panel 10 and furnishes a finish for the edgeof the hole. A bead or rib 15 is formed on the body of the finger pullbeing located at a Z-atented Jan. 1, 1963 distance from the surface ofthe panel which is less than the thickness of the panel. This head orrib 15 has preferably a sloping surface on the side of the rib away fromflange 13 as indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4, and may have a sharp peripheraledge as shown in FIG. 3 or a somewhat rounded one as shown at 15a inFIG. 4.

The finger pull is set by being pushed into a hole. As it enters, therib compresses the adjacent portion of the wall of the panel slightlyand the bottom 14 of the cupshaped finger pull bends enough to allow aslight reduction in diameter of the wall of the cup allowing the rib topass down along the wall of the hole. At the same time the material ofthe panel yields, compressing a little and forming a groove in which therib 15 is embedded. The finger pull or cup A can thus be fastened inplace almost instantly and when once in place is never likely to bedisplaced.

It will also be seen that when in place the flange 13 forms anattractive finish for the edge of the hole, that the hole is completelyclosed, and that the cup does not project substantially beyond the planeof the back surface of its panel.

I claim:

In combination a panel with a round hole in it, and in the hole a cupwith a normally fiat bottom, which is slightly flexible and resilient,said cup having a flange around its open end resting on the surface ofthe panel around the hole, and having its resilient botttom buckledslightly when the cup is inserted in the hole, said cup having a singlerib formed on the outside of its cylindrical surface, said rib having anouter diameter slightly greater than that of the hole and having asloping surface on the side away from the flange about the open end andhaving an edge embedded in the wall of the hole in the panel and afterinsertion in the hole held in engagement therewith by the tendency ofthe buckled bottom of the cup to resume its original form.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS507,853 Sutton Oct. 31, 1893 676,622 Gochnauer June 18, 1901 813,990Ricke Feb. 27, 1906 2,688,995 Wagoner Sept. 14, 1954 2,771,205Zepelovitch Nov. 20, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 820,754 Great Britain Sept.23, 1959

